Television networks sell advertising during television programs and generally receive revenue for use of the commercial airtime in proportion to the program's viewership, i.e., ratings. As such, networks face the problem of viewers not watching the commercials in between segments of the television program. This is especially troublesome with the prevalent use of remote controls allowing a viewer to change channels without moving and the use of videocassette recorders that allow viewers to watch programs at different times than they are shown on the networks (i.e., time shifting). In addition, TiVo®-type devices which allow time shifting of programs on a real-time basis can diminish the amount of commercials watched by viewers.
Advertisers have tried to hype their commercials, for example, for new product releases, before they are going to be shown during a television event like the Super Bowl, the Oscars, etc. Also, advertisers have utilized actors from television commercials (e.g., Jerry Seinfeld of the “Seinfeld” program in American Express® commercials, Jason Alexander in Rold Gold® (a registered trademark of Frito-Lay) pretzel commercials, or the Costanzas from the “Seinfeld” program acting in character in an MCI commercial, but never has an actor appeared in character in a commercial in a context through which the thematic content of a program is advanced. In the old days of television, an actor might even break away from a television program to advertise a product (e.g., the program “I Love Lucy®” with toothpaste), but these types of commercial breaks are no longer used. A need now exists for a method of enticing viewers to remain tuned not only to a specific program but also throughout the entirety of each of that program's commercial breaks. This will provide monetary benefit to networks and a consistent viewership for advertisers.
The viewer tendency of wandering off from his/her original program of interest during a commercial break and never returning has become a major concern of television networks. The sheer volume of programs to choose from on a cable or satellite system has caused viewers to end up only watching about a fraction of, on average, three to four different shows, switching to a new program at the onset of a commercial break.
Viewers' ability to ignore commercials has caused television to move closer to nonstop advertising through product placements in shows, onscreen crawls, and the use of promotional logos in the middle of programs. Even informational content can serve as an advertisement, such as ESPN's “bottom line” on-screen display of sports scores and information which also includes advertising for programs, related channels and products (e.g., one such advertisement urges people to buy their NFL Draft gear from a web site).
The cable channel, Oxygen™, has taken that bottom-line approach a step further by positioning an information line at the bottom of programming and commercials, supplementing advertisements with an additional slogan line, the product's telephone number, or its Internet address.
In addition, during a prime-time program, NBC has inserted a graphic promoting its new series “Weakest Link.” Also, MTV™ runs countdowns to a big event during other programs, such as its annual music awards. Further, during baseball telecasts, the picture is reduced so that half of the screen can be used to remind viewers that there are tickets available for upcoming games.
Another approach has put products in program names, such as “Kraft Premier Movie” telecast of a new version of “Murder on the Orient Express.” More subtle tactics include the use of sponsors' products within programs, such as when a player on “Survivor: The Australian Outback” pined for Doritos®, or the department store Target sponsoring items distributed to the contestants.
There have also been similar corporate tie-ins to programs, such as Disney World becoming a location for episodes of shows on Disney-owned ABC.
As indicated above, several factors have caused television to create the constant commercial. One of the reasons for the introduction of such factors is that the load of traditional advertisements has steadily grown over the years. While the amount varies from show-to-show, generally 25 to 30 percent of commercial-TV viewing is for advertising.
The constant logos for stations and networks in the corner of TV screens tell zap-happy viewers where they are to help Nielsen headcounters track ratings. On-screen weather maps and news crawls that do not completely interrupt the programs are a way to keep viewers informed without waiting for a commercial break when they may be channel hopping. Also, the maps and crawls serve a secondary purpose of promoting an upcoming newscast.
Various technology has been used to ease the insertion of advertisements in between program segments, such as using automatic computer control into cable or satellite broadcasts. Also, advertisements have been customized for the individual viewer. In addition, techniques such as “road block advertising” have been used to run the same advertisement on different networks simultaneously. Further, satellite viewers may receive broadcast advertisements from the local areas, rather than nationwide advertisements by a system that selectively transmits such advertisements to satellite viewers in certain areas.
Many of the techniques of inserting advertising or logos into programs prove offensive to viewers which may turn them off to programs and reduce viewership and corresponding advertising revenue. Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system to ensure that television program viewers will watch programs and corresponding advertisements.